Premo Partner Co., Ltd.
Premo Partner, an incubator specializing in medtech, awards
outstanding startup companies
Tecco Co., Ltd., which provides Rehamaru, a rehabilitation support device for Parkinson’s disease using mixed reality, receives the Medtech Angels Grand Prize
……
Premo Partner* will hold “Medtech Angels Season 3-DemoDay-” on May 23, 2024. Approximately 230 people (110 at the venue, 120 online) from medical professionals, investors, and business companies participated, demonstrating the growing interest in the Medtech field. This time as well, new businesses by six startups were introduced, and the grand prize was chosen from among them, “Tecco Co., Ltd.” In addition, a report on the year’s business activities of Spine Chronicle Japan Co., Ltd., which won last year’s top award, was also presented.
Furthermore, in a panel discussion entitled “The Incubator We Aim for,” panelists involved in this field pointed out the incubation situation in Silicon Valley as well as issues facing Japan. These will be published at a later date. Here, we will report an overview of Tecco, the reasons for the award, and its background.
What Medtech Angels aim for
When a doctor, researcher, or business person from a different industry enters the medical field with a business idea, they lack knowledge of laws and regulations and the development process, and are unable to draw up a business strategy from the idea stage to post-marketing. I often get frustrated.
Therefore, at Medtech Angels, we clarify the hurdles for each business stage from the beginning so that these entrepreneurs can make it through to the end, and create accurate action plans for them. The programs offered include specific and specialized lectures on topics such as regulatory strategies for medical devices and insurance reimbursement strategies, as well as mentoring. This kind of support is an “accelerator program” that allows startups to formulate business strategies before starting the full-scale development process, and provides startups with early growth opportunities. Premo Partner, which operates Medtech Angels, has a group of experts working closely with startup companies and providing the services necessary for commercialization in order to deliver new medical devices needed by many patients to the field as quickly as possible. The main thing I do is go. Therefore, as an incubator for medical device development, Premo Partner’s policy of action is to “always be close to” startup companies.
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/59971/23/resize/d59971-23-29fe753a8d668ed3ee27-0.jpg&s3=59971-23-5def63728b8dc79b4a3838388a60a745-3603×1974.jpg] (Photo front row from left) UniMedical Co., Ltd., Curelity Co., Ltd., Tecco Co., Ltd., FairMed, asai Co., Ltd., 8ILLION
Parkinson’s disease rehabilitation with mixed reality (MR/mixed reality) At this Medtech Angels Season 3 – Demo Day – six companies made pitches in front of many stakeholders. All of the presentations were impactful and attracted the attention of the participants, and the first step as an entrepreneur received high praise.
Among them, the one that attracted the attention of many judges was “Rehamaru” by Tecco Co., Ltd., which won this year’s award. Tecco will develop a system to promote the improvement of exercise therapy for Parkinson’s disease, a designated incurable disease of unknown cause. Currently, it is said that there are 140,000 people nationwide who have moderate or severe symptoms, and the disease is currently considered incurable. Although drug therapy and surgery are available, the only treatment currently available is symptomatic therapy.
Tecco is trying to develop a system that supports this rehabilitation. We are an IT group with advanced technology, and our system uses MR (Mixed Reality) technology to create a virtual space within the real world and perform rehabilitation. For Parkinson’s disease patients, for whom it is said to be important to exercise at home, results have shown that rehabilitation using MR has shown significant improvement compared to conventional exercise therapy.
The judges gave the company high marks for its clear strategy, deep understanding of the business domain, and clear path to
commercialization. Keep an eye on future developments leading up to market launch.
In addition, Medtech Angels has the support of many corporate sponsors, and is being used to help startups further improve the precision of their operations. This can be said to be the culmination of the desire of both the startup company and its supporters to contribute to the development of medical technology so that new medical care can be delivered to many patients.
Nurturing Japanese startup companies
So, why are there so few medical device startup companies in Japan and so few success stories?
Behind this is the situation in Japan. Medical devices are a regulated business, and when commercializing them, we must ensure their effectiveness and safety when used on the human body. This requires a huge amount of time to develop, typically 5 to 10 years, and monetization is not possible during that time.
During this period until market launch, each development stage must be completed while raising appropriate funds. In many cases, it is thought that it would be good if funding could be raised smoothly, but another factor that prevents innovation from occurring is the large barriers at each development stage. This is why there are so few startup companies aiming to develop medical devices in Japan. Developing a business from an idea to sales involves 1. Basic research, 2. Applied research for practical application, 3.
Non-clinical studies to verify the concept, and 4. Verification of safety and effectiveness. Only after undergoing clinical trials and clinical research and receiving approval from the regulatory authorities can sales begin. All of these processes are highly specialized, the market is closed, complex, and take a long time. Therefore, Premo Partner provides start-up companies with a system that allows them to collaborate with a variety of players so that they can receive the necessary support according to the stage of product development in order for their start-up business to succeed. Through this kind of support, start-up companies can use their time
efficiently before launching their products, and have the advantage of being able to bring their products to market quickly.
Japan’s medical device field is immature and fragmented. Therefore, realistic responses are required in the environment for nurturing startup companies, and we must divide labor and collaborate as an ecosystem.
In order to continuously nurture startup companies, Premo Partner provides appropriate support according to their development stage, can proactively collaborate with appropriate parties at each development stage, and provides the necessary resources.
The company’s CEO, Kimimi Sakurai, emphasizes, “We need a system that seamlessly implements the three elements of engineering, medicine, and business.” Premo Partner is an accompaniment/cooperative incubator that is tailored to the actual situation in Japan.
We believe that Premo Partner’s role is to accelerate innovation in the medical field by nurturing venture companies in Japan and ensuring the production of medical devices made in Japan.
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/59971/23/resize/d59971-23-c041c11c1247e066055d-1.jpg&s3=59971-23-caec7631393101a9fc3874f805bcbdba-945×372.jpg] Diagram: Accompanying/cooperative incubation aimed at by Premo Partners For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact the contact information below.
secretariat.medtechangels@premopartners.com
*Premo Partner Co., Ltd.:
Established in 2019 as an incubator for medical device development. The company name, Premo, means “to snuggle” in Latin.
Since 2021, we have been holding Medtech Angels and supporting many startup companies.
https://www.premopartners.com/
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